Parents Week!!!

well settle in everyone. you are starting what will probably be our longest blog yet. just be thankful it's daniel instead of kirsten. that should save you several hours of reading.

they came and went and it was a great week! we probably did more in this one week than we have done in the month prior to their visit, but it was good. i'll jump right in to the play by play...tuesday we got the trip off with a bang by heading west to the beach. none of the six of us had ever been to the oregon coast so it made for a little getting lost but a lot of beautiful driving. by the way you can thank dad for all the great pictures.

we got our day started with a stop at the Tillamook Cheese factory. i've gotta say, if you've never seen thousands of pounds of cheese sliding around on conveyor belts it's pretty awesome. i can now say that i'm kind of a cheese snob. i'll only eat tillamook cheese from now on (unless by chance it isn't available...but then i'll wish i was eating tillamook cheese). we all ate free samples and some tillamook ice cream before we headed for the coast.

we got to hwy 101 and headed north, winding through hills and forests and saw some amazing views of the pacific.

kirsten actually got to touch the pacific ocean for the first time which was awesome...but really really cold. i mean really cold. and there were actually kids there in swimsuits like it was daytona beach or something. i guess when you live in oregon you do what you've got to do.
the beaches were beautiful and we had a great day heading up almost all the way to washington before coming back home.
wednesday the three guys went out early for our first oregon golfing experience. let's just say it's not any easier on the west coast. that afternoon we met up with the ladies who had been downtown shopping. we got some gelato, went to Powell's, and had a great dinner outside in Portland.
thursday we were right back at it. after matt got off work we headed out to the Columbia Gorge to see the same set of waterfalls kirsten and i saw on our way into portland.

this time we took the time to hike to a few others that we didn't get to see last time.
that night we had dinner at the Kennedy School (another one of our favorites).

friday we went to the International Rose Test Garden which was great, but actually a little disappointing because a lot of the roses that were in bloom a few weeks ago when kirsten and i went were gone by now. it was still great and dad the photographer got some great pictures.



after the rose garden we came home and took it easy for awhile before dinner a great italian place a short walk from matt and kim's.

saturday after a big breakfast the guys went for another golf outing while the girls spent some more money. that night we had a relaxing night full of mexican food and board games.
sunday we got up and had a delicious brunch in portland before mom and dad headed off to the airport.

it really was a great week. so all of you out there know that we are experienced entertainers now and are ready for YOU to come visit!!! just let us know when to pick you up.